“I’m not going to accept business-as-usual at GM,” she told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.

So there you have it, on the record, and straight from the top: The GM Nod was business as usual.

“Everyone nods in agreement to a proposed plan of action, but then leaves the room and does nothing.”

Notice the multilayered complexity of this concession: Barra actually gave the nod to the nod in promising there would be no more nods. And she did this before a bunch of lawmakers who mostly incline to nodding.

This was one of the most skillful deflections in the history of corporate duplicity. And Barra capped it off with one of the most brilliant lines in the history of crisis management: “I am not afraid of the truth.”

Of course she’s not afraid of the truth. The GM Nod makes it highly unlikely that anyone will be able to prove the truth.

The investigative report Barra commissioned was supposed to get to the bottom of its faulty ignition switch that is responsible for at least 13 deaths, and perhaps as many as 100. The report describes the GM Nod like this:

Mary Barra talks about changes at GM

(2:49)

General Motors CEO Mary Barra speaks to Congress about changes to be implemented at GM after a troubled recall on a defective ignition switch linked to at least 13 deaths since 2002.

“Although everyone had responsibility to fix the problem, nobody took responsibility. It was an example of what one GM executive described as the ‘GM Nod,’ when everyone nods in agreement to a proposed plan of action, but then leaves the room and does nothing.”

It sounds just like GM, which drove itself into bankruptcy as its executives told investors that its business was fine. It also sounds like Congress, which is doing the same thing with an entire nation.

The inescapable reality is that somewhere in the bowels of an auto maker, a decision must sometimes be made between lives and money.

Do we shell out millions now to recall a faulty part? Or do we shell out millions later to pay for the deaths it may cause? Which is cheaper?

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